A fresh deal

Vikram, Zara, Vevek and Shalini always came together for one thing...a game of cards. Whenever they would get together for their fortnightly meetings, a round of cards was well...always on the 'cards'. The meetings were quite typical. They began over lunch/dinner, (oddly the boys always arrived later) a brief catching up on each other’s work and personal life, followed by more food and of course the usual crackers from the boys. Men always seem to have a natural flair for humor. And so while the men were best being witty, the girls blushed and sat pretty! But the meetings had to invariably end in a game of cards. While every game had a new winner, one thing never changed...how Zara and Vikaram sat. They always took the seat opposite to each other and while everyone played for their individual gain, Zara and Vikram had a game of their own. They invented gestures and signs which they used while playing.
Their friends of course were oblivious to this secret arrangement. A tug on the leg meant the person next to Zara was ready to pack. And a raised eyebrow from Vikram was a sign that the road was clear for Zara to claim a higher stake. So while others exchanged cards and conversations, Zara and Vikram relished a rather silent exchange of their own.
Soon this camouflage extended into something more than just the game. Vikram purposely lingered back after the game. Zara always pretended to have some work nearby, so she won't have to leave with the rest. And so their secret rendezvous became more intimate. Zara started looking forward to every meeting and took particular care in dressing up. She loved the secret messages Vikram would send her, telling her how pretty she looked. Slyly she would read them and blush. Zara's world revolved around these meetings. She thought these moments would never end and she clung to Vikram even more. But just like a child who tightly holds on to her chocolate so that it doesn't finish, only to open her hand and see that it’s all melted. Zara too woke up to a reality she never expected. It started much like the usual meetings. She spent an hour deciding what to wear, till she finally zeroed on a red dress. It was Vikram's favourite colour. She even straightened her unruly hair (Vikram liked that too!).
But that day she got a little late. It was cloudy and all the autowallas were eager to head home. She finally arrived at the venue and stood at the door. She looked around the crowded room and spotted Vikram. He was wearing the grey shirt she really liked. "Perfect", she said to herself. Today was going to be special. She walked across the room, looking only at Vikram. She reached the table and pulled the chair opposite his. Just then a girl walked past her and took her seat. She smiled politely at Zara and said thank you. Zara looked at Vikram, her eyes brimming with questions. And that's when she saw it, the big diamond glistening on his finger.
A fresh deck of cards lay dealt on the table. But Zara turned and slowly walked away.
She knew that the game was finally over.

A turn for good

Ta...da... I'm finally here! Till quite recently, I really didn't care too much for blogs. I couldn't understand why people would pen(sorry key) down their personal thoughts on a social forum and receive an inexplicable pleasure out of it? And while my sister, an enthusiastic blog writer and follower urged me many a times to read blogs and even write some, I hardly cared. In fact I'm sure out of the many blogs she has written I've only read one. But then one day, I read a guy's blog and for some strange reason it inspired me. So I made up my mind to start my own. Oddly, the inspiration lasted only for a few days and then my uncanny habit of postponing things took the better of me.
But something happened today, after a very rough month and a rough night of dealing with certain events that have doomed my life off late, something changed. I woke up today, thinking that a bad month and a bad night would translate into an equally bad if not worse day. So I decided to go for a walk, if i can't control the bad things happening around me I should at least keep one thing under control...my weight (have put on loads n loads of it, I bet it has everything to do with those jealous eyes who used to envy my hour glass figure!). Anyhow, so as I was furiously walking while trying to sort out the outburst of emotions in my head, a petite little butterfly came and perched herself on my shoulder. She kept sitting as I slowed my pace and my heartbeat(though I was scared it would fly away with my movement, but it didn't.) It patiently waited for me to calm down and when I finally sat down and took a long look at it, I felt that all my angst, my sorrow and the weight on my mind(unfortunately not the one on my body) being lifted. And then almost symbolically, it flew away too. So in the midsts of everything that had taken a turn for the worse, it all fell back into place again. And a predetermined bad day inexplicably took a turn for good.